1930s Dog Head Hilt Bonifacio Bolo
 

Just picked up this nice stacked horn carved dogs head Philippines bolo. The guard has a ring style guard. The bolster does show a weld which predates WW2. Comments welcome :)


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...0#ht_682wt_922

Will post better pics when it arrives ;)

Hello Lew,

have watched this bolo also but since I have had some other shoppings in the last time I have passed on this one. :D ;)
Would like to know from where exactly it coming. Like the complex styled handle and the patination on the sheath seems to be very good.
Congratulations for this nice addition to your collection.

Regards,

Detlef

Sajen

My guess it is from Luzon? The bolo itself shows some type of Spanish influence which includes the ringed guard. The ferrule and hilt show the the maker had a higher skill level than the average town black smith which leads me to believe he was an old timer from the earlier part of the 20th century. Of course I will need to wait and see what our other Philippine bolo collectors have to say. ;)

Here are some better pics. :)

HI Lew.

This is indeed a Luzon piece. But by the patina and the eye (which looks like aluminum) I might say mid-20 century. The blade style is a malapad style.

Jose I must disagree



They did have aluminium in the 1930s-40 didn't they? So based on just the eye material how can be sure? The scalloped ferrule is way too fancy and the seamed bolster is a a pre 1940s feature which you never see on post WW2 examples which were usually made from spent brass shells :shrug:

The seller does state that the bolo belonged to a senior citizen who who's father was a merchant marine so it is possible that the bolo could be circa 1935-42?

Well, I would place it at the earliest WWII then. Aluminum (if it is aluminum) would be readily available from crashed planes. If it is white metal, then I would say perhaps a little earlier.

The blade form is a traditional blade form.

Well the bolo arrived today and it turns out that it's a one eared dog :eek: Must have lost it in a fight :D :rolleyes:. The good news is the scabbard is made out of carved horn. I cleaned up the blade and gave it a few strokes on my sharpening stone and it now has a razors edge :). I'll take some pics tomorrow of the finished product and post them.

What I just noticed is that the top quillion is in the form of a rooster head. Here are some pics.

I love it. Good score. :)

Steve

I am with Steve, nice one! Do you plan to give it back the missing ear?

Regards,


Detlef

Oh yes I have a wonderful vet Dr. Battara should be able fix up that ear ;) :D .

:D :D :cool: